


Veneer

by WroughtBetwixt



Series: JohnWard Prompts [36]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Espionage, Gen, Politics, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-28
Updated: 2014-10-28
Packaged: 2018-02-22 23:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2526332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WroughtBetwixt/pseuds/WroughtBetwixt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>ve·neer<br/>noun \və-ˈnir\<br/>: a thin layer of wood or other material that is attached to the surface of something in order to make it look better<br/>: a way of behaving or appearing that gives other people a false idea of your true feelings or situation</p>
            </blockquote>





	Veneer

SHIELD was like a cheap table with a pretty finish, and oh, how Grant was going to thoroughly enjoy stripping it.  
  
Sure, if you slapped enough polish on it, it looked good. Nice, uniform, quality. But if you scraped the surface enough, if you took away the shine and the sparkle, it was trash just like anything else. Brittle, rotten, falling apart at the joints. He could see it every time he looked at John, knowing what damage was under the clothes he wore so carefully to hide as many scars as possible-- knowing what damage was inside that brilliant, complicated mind. He was reminded when he had to tell Fitz that the extraction team wasn’t coming. How many people, good people, were going to have to be mangled and sacrificed before the rest woke up? How much did SHIELD have to do wrong, before people realized it was no better than Hydra?   
  
He decided it, the first time John’s biomechanics failed and Grant had to rush to restart them. The pain, terror and shame in John’s eyes had sparked a flame of hatred that only grew. That was the moment he knew he was where he belonged, and he gladly followed John down the path leading to Hydra’s doorstep. It was a fire that was fanned when Fitz looked at him with those trusting puppy eyes, and he could see a crack form in that trust. Of course Fitz covered it up later. Trust the system. It’s what helped plenty of SHIELD agents sleep at night, he knew. But for one moment, Grant had seen the mask drop, and he’d seen the despair behind it.   
  
Grant was tired of seeing people he loved in fear, in pain, and in danger, all because SHIELD tried to appear solid and stable when it was just another slab of glued-together sawdust. He knew what was underneath. With time, he would show everyone else.


End file.
